Record-selecting system



June 1932- P. M. RAlNEY RECORD SELECTING SYSTEM 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Oct. 5. 1928 INVENTOR: PAUL (nu-(AIR Ronli BY I I ATTORNEY June 14, 1932. P. M. RAINEY RECORD SELECTING SYSTEM E, 1928 2 SheetsSheet Filed 001:.

INVENTOR AT ORNEY Patented J une 14, 1932 I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PAUL MILLER RAINEY, OF MON'ICLAIR, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO COMBINATION SELECTOR COMPANY, INCORPORATED, OF MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY, A. CORPORA- TION OF NEW JERSEY RECORD-SELECTING SYSTEIII Application filed October 1928. Serial No. 310,665.

United States Patent #1,599,623 granted September 14:, 1926.

It is an object of the present invention to provide means whereby a predetermined ac- 15 tion such as tabulating, sorting, recording or the like may be taken by the machine either with respect'to those records which possess- ;one or more characteristics in common or with respect to those records which fail to exhibit the required characteristics.

It is another object of this invention to provide means in a system of the type disclosed in Patent #1,599,623 whereby the disposition with respect to record members whether selected or non-selected shall be determined by a matrix member which may be attached to or be a part of'the matrix member which determines selection or non-selection of record members and to provide a fil able record of such disposition.

In the mechanism of the above mentioned patent the action determining means is in a sense independent of the matrix member to such an extent that if the attendant'fails'to insert a matrix, the machine will function in the normal manner and will continue to feed 1 a matrix on which the'disposition of the record members to be selected is not indicated. .This object maybe attained by placing the record feeding means of the above mentioned patent under control of the matrix member scription and the drawings; designation so' that if a member is'not inserted, the feeding mechanism is rendered inoperative. In accordance with this feature of the invention the matrix member in additionto having selective or reading characteristics, also may have characteristics which indicate and/or control the proper adjustment of the mecha:

nism in accordance with the action which is to be taken with respect to the records being selected.

. A further feature of the invention resides in a matrix member of the character described in said patent wherein the matrix itself determines the disposition or action which is to be taken with respect to those records which possess one or more common characteristics, or of those which do not possess the predetermined characteristics.

Other features and advantages not specifically enumerated will be apparent upon a consideration of the following detailed description illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is rear end view of a portion of the mechanism disclosed in Patent #1,599,623.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1.

Fig, 3 is a partial detailed front view showing the relation between the matrix, the matrix supporting plate and the adjustable lever according to the invention.

Fig. 4 shows an alternative form of matrix member for automatically positioning the action determining lever upon' insertion of the matrix.

' Figs. 5 and 6 illustrate" in side elevation and partly in section the tabulating machine embodying my invention. j

For the purpose of simplifying the decharacters which correspond to similarelements disclosed in the above mentioned pat ent are employed and only sufii'cient details are disclosed to enable-the invention to be p clearly understood. As shown in Fig. 1, the selecting mechanism comprises a main housing having side walls 24 and 25. Transversely mounted in the side walls is the cross member 35 on which is pivotally mounted the matrix supporting frame 38. As described in Patent No. 1,599,623 the frame 38 is provided with flat spring members 37 which are adapted to retain matrix 101 in proper position with its perforations in alignment with corresponding perforation in the frame 38. As represented by the numeral 150 the frame 38 is provided with rows of perforations for the purpose of registering with the pin ends 103 of the selecting fingers 30. As described in detail in the above mentioned patent, frame 38 together with the inserted matrix 101 is held in its normal or backward position, as shown in Fig. 2 by means of a suitable spring 46. The selecting fingers 30 are provided with upturned portions 54 which normally bear against the rear edge 36 of a swingable frame comprising side member 33 and 34 pivotally mounted on the cross member 35.

These side members have rearwardly extending projections 53 which normally bear against the matrix frame. The frame 33,34 is held in yielding engagement with the projections 54 by means of springs 52 each of which has one end attached to the lower end of said frame and the other endattached to the left hand end ofan associated selecting finger 30. For the purpose of rotating the frame 33, 34 about the cross member 35 to effect a comparison of the individual records 12 with the matrix 101, there is provided a toggle mechanism composed of the links 43, 44, link 44 being pivotally mounted on the shank of screw 28 which is fixed in the frame of the machine, while the opposite end ofthe toggle member 43 is pivotally attached to the side frame member 34.

As shown in Figs. 2, 5 and 6, the joint of the toggle is provided with :1. lug 45 which is adapted to be engaged by the lowering of the operating lever 2 to effect a partialstraightening of said toggle and the moving forward of the edge 36 with respect to the. projections 54 of the selecting levers 30. This enables said levers to rotate around their pivots 31 whereby the reading or analyzing fingers 80 and 81 register with the lacuna on the edge of that record 12 which, at the time, is being compared with the matrix and which has been previously fed forward to the reading position shown in Fig. 2. As described in the above mentioned patent the printing plates are fed from the magazine 22 sequentially to the printing position by pawlsll engaging the printing plates on each side of the frame 10 each time the printing handle is pressed down a sufiieient distance, and consequently, the frame 10 is moved'forward sufiicient'ly to permita succeeding plate to be removed from the bottom of the magazine'22. The frame 10 is mounted on rollers 17 and the plates after they havepassed the printing position are deposited in a compartment not shown in the same order as they occupied in magazine 22. p

The handle 2 is returned to normal by means of springs such as 20 and 21, shown attached to the link 9 and the frame of the machine.

Depending upon the disposition of the indicia on the record 12 the pin ends 103 will move to one of the positions indicated in Figs. 2 and 6 by dot-dash lines. If the positions assumed by levers 30 in response to their reading operations are such that the extensions 103 are in registry with the characteristic perforations in the matrix 101, the matrix frame 38 will be free to move forward to the position indicated by the dot-dash line 105.

As shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 3 the matrix frame 38 is rovided with an arcuate slot 151 with which is adapted to register corresponding perforations 152 or 153 in the matrix proper. As represented by the numeral 154 there is pivotally mounted on the rear face of the frame 38 a bell crank member 155 which carries at its upper extremity a small pin 156 adapted to register with the arcuate slot 151. The opposite end 165 of the bell crank is extended through a suitable opening in the side 24 of the main housing .to enable the lever to engage the shifting finger 157 which is pivotally attached to the extension 164 of frame 38.

Finger 157 is connected by means of the link 59 to the slide 60 which cooperates with a spring supported plunger 68. Slide 60 is slidably mounted in a slot in a projection 61,

extending outwardly from the left side mem-' ber 29 of housing 25 and is provided with an opening 63. This opening normally does not register with the plunger 68 which is slidably positioned in a hole in projection 61, at

right angles to the slide 60. The upper end of finger 157 isbifurcated and is adapted to receive the end 165 of lever 155 which is capable of assuming and being retained in different positions as determined by the location of pin 156 in one of the perforations 152 or 153 in the matrix whereby the effective point of connection of member 59to frame 38 may be adjusted and .the position of perforated slide 60, with respect to plunger 68 correspondingly varied.

As shown in Fig. 1, the lever 155 is connected by a link 158. to another bell crank lever 159 which is also pivoted. as at 160 on the rear side of the frame 38. A spring 161 has one end fastened at 162 to the frame 38 and the other end to the pivotal point be-- tween the link 158 and the lever 15 9 extendmg normally to' hold the tip 163 of lever 159- in I its lowermost depressed position where it can. engage the. feeding frame .10 and prevent further operation thereof by blocking the mechanism, and preventing downward movement of ,op'erating handle 2. At the with the left-hand end (Fig. 1) of slot 151 same time that the tip 163 is'held depressed the pin 156 on lever is held; in engagement whereby the end 165 of lever 155 is rotated upwardly and slide 60 is moved toward the left (Fig. 2). \Vhen the' selecting frame 38 together with the matrix carried thereby is moved forward to its selecting position as described in theabove' mentioned patent, the slide 60 is not moved sufficiently to bring the perforation therein into registry with the tip of plunger 68. Consequently, when the arm 2 is lowered it meets the head of the plunger 68 and since the tip of said plunger is in engagement with the unperforated portion of the slide 60 (as long as the end 165 is in its raised position) the said arm ,2 is prevented from completing its movement and effecting printing or other action with respect to record 12. A

. It will be noted that the above described condition obtains. so long as no matrix is inserted in the mechanism since the pin 156 is free to move toward the left-hand end of slot 151. This movement permits the tip 163 of lever 159 to engage conveyor 10, blocking the mechanism and preventing further feeding of tokens as herein above described. Similarly if a wrong matrix is inserted, that is, one without an action determining perforation 152 or 153 the entire mechanism is rendered inoperable, thus preventing the feeding forward of records without performing the proper action thereon, such as printing tabulating or the like.

For the purpose of determining and retaining the proper position of the lever 155 and the shifting finger 157, each matrix 101 in addition to the characteristic indicia perforations corresponding to perforations 150, is also provided with two action determining perforations 152, 153 as above described. Should it be desired to operate the mechanism to tabulate, or otherwise act, only on those records 12 which do not possess the requisite indicia, the proper matrix 101 having been inserted, lever 155 is moved manually toward the right (Fig. 1) until the pin 156 engages the perforation 153. Registry of the pin with the perforation holds the pin 156 on lever 155 in the right-hand end of slot 151 against the tension of spring 161 and'maintains the lever 159 in the position shown in Figalwhereby the tip 163 of the latter lever is disengaged from the feeding mechanism. In this adjustment of the apparatus the end 165 of lever 155 is in its lowermost position and the effective point of connection of slide 60 to frame 38 is such that when the frame is moved for- 'ward to engage the ends 103 of the selecting fingers 30, the slide 60 is moved only sufficiently to cause the perforation in said slide to come in registry with the tip of plunger 68, consequently lowering of the operating arm 2 will effect tabulation or other action with respect to the record 12 which at the time is being readby fingers 30. On the other hand, if the record '12 does possess the required indicia which are similar to those represented by the matrix, the frame 38 would move sufiiciently forward, in its selecting movement, to bring the perforation in slide 60 out of enga ement with the plunger 68 and prevent tabulation or other action with respect to the record 12. Conversely, should it be desired to tabulate or act on those records which possess the required indicia corresponding to the matrix, the lever 155 is-moved toward the left until the pin 156 engages the perforation 152 in the matrix. In this position the end 165 of lever 155 is held in its raisedposition shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 and the effective length of link 59 or point of connection thereof to frame 38 is such that the frame in moving forward to its selecting position 'moves the slide 60 sufliciently to the right (Fig. 2) so that the perforation therein registers with the tip of plunger 68, enabling the arm 2 to effect the tabulation or other similar operation. It should be noted that when pin 156 is in perforation 152 that the tip 163 of lever 159 does not descend sufiiciently far to interfere with the feeding movement of frame 10.

r Fig. 4 shows a modified form of matrix member having a notched edge for the purpose of automatically shifting or camming the action determining lever 155 to the proper end of the slot 151. If it is desired to retain the lever 155 in its right-hand position (Fig. 1) the edge 166 of the matrix 101 is continthe-right when the matrix is inserted in the matrix holder by the usual-vertical movement from top to bottom. On the other hand if it is .desired to have the lever 155 in its left-hand position a matrix having a slot 168 is provided. This slot registers with the slot 151 in the plate 38 but is shorter than said slot and enables the lever 155 to be retained in its lefthand position under control of spring 161. Thus the mere insertion of the matrix member automatically shifts the action determining lever 157 to the proper selective-position.

Notwithstanding the fact that the disclosure herein shows a matrix which determines disposition of record members with respect to printing or not printing, or recording or not recordin it will be clear to those skilled in the art that it is equally applicable to other dispositions as, for example, in sorting to different pockets or paths, and in tabulating or compiling systems, adding, ornot adding,

adding or subtracting, multiplying or adding to the characteristics of the data carried thereby, means for automatically reading said indicia, means comprising a master index member and means responsive to each reading, for determining action to be taken with respect to the record being read, the lastmentionedmeans comprising a selectable .shiftable member adapted to be retained in a selected position; by the master member.

2. In a selecting system comprising record members possessiiig'iiidicia corresponding to characteristics of the persons or objects represented thereby, a selecting mechanism comprising one or more selecting members ,to be variably positioned by said record members, a matrix or index member cooperating with said selecting mechanism to select or identify one or more of said record members possessing certain indicia, means for tabulating the characteristics of the ind vidual records, and ad ustable means adapted to be retained in I selective position by the index member for ter object, a plurality of individual objects, meansfor testing the characteristics of an individual object with those of the master object, means for operating on the individual objects and controlled jointly by the master object and the individual object being tested, means effected in one adjustment to cause said operating means to operate on those obj ects which possess predetermined charac teristics and in another adjustment to operate on those objects which do not possess the said characteristics, both of said adjustments being controlled by the characteristics of the -master object.

5. In combination, a series of objects exhibiting like or different characteristics, a magazine for said objects, means for feeding said objects in succession from said magazine to a testing position,-means for testing each object and for comparing the results of each test with the characteristics of a master object, adjustable means for determining an" action to be taken with respect to each tested object, said adjustable meansbeing under control of the master object. o

6. In a selectingsystem, a master index member, a plurality of individual record members, means for comparing predeter- -mined characteristics of said master member with those of .a record member, means 'for tabulating the characteristics-of the record members, and means for determining whether said tabulating means is to be ef fective to act on those records which possess indicia similar to the master member or on those records which do not possess the required indicia, said last mentioned meanscharacteristics of records compared therewith and another group of indicia for controlling a tabulating or like operation on said records, means adapted to be selectively positioned with relation to the last mentioned indicia for determining whether the tabulation is to be effective on records possessing one or more predetermined characteristics or on records which do not possess the redetermined characteristics.

8. n a record selecting mechanism having means for feeding record members there through, means to select predetermined ones of said members, a master index member, means controlled by the movement of the master member for tabulating the data from the record members, and means for restraining the action of said feeding means upon the failure to insert a master index member.

9. A mechanism for selecting individual flating predetermined data thereof comprising a master index member, means for comparing said member with said records, means for recording the characteristics of certain of said compared records, and means for rendering said recording means inoperative upon the failure to insert a master member in said mechanism.

10. A mechanism for selecting,individual records from a group of records comprising a master index supporting frame, a plurality of selecting fingers adapted to be selectivelypositioned in accordance with predetermined characteristics of the record members, means for moving said frame to bring the master index member into testing rela-' tion with said 'fingers and for moving said frame to a selecting position whencertain characteristics of the record member are revealed by the test, means for tabulating the characteristics of said records, means for restraining said tabulating means and adapted to be selectively positioned in accordance with the movement of said frame, adjustable means carried by said frame for deter mining the selective position of said restraining means, said last mentioned means being retained in an adjusted position by the master index member.

termining whether said tabulating mecha- .125 v 11. In a record selecting and listing mechnism will tabulate the records which have characteristics represented by the master member or those which have other charac teristics, saidlast mentioned means comprising an adjustable finger adapted to be retained in adjusted position by the master member and a lever-like member adapted to have its leverage varied in accordance with the adjustment of said finger.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, this 31' day of October, 1928. Y

PAUL MILLER RAINEY. 

